Although it seems to be a growth in construction jobs, is there a chance construction jobs can be taken away? From robots? Sounds like fantasy, huh? However, with growing technology, this isn’t really a sci-fi story anymore… it’s now our reality. According to a study done by the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, they estimate robots could either replace or displace 2.7 million jobs in construction by 2057.
Operating engineers have a high rate (88%) for the potential of going automation. Many companies are investing in technology that will make automation possible. Such companies include: CAT, Komatsu, Volvo CE. Roofers have the smallest potential for automation, as well as construction laborers and sheet metal workers. Certain takes just can’t be done by robots due to unpredictable and changing environments.
Overall, it’s predicted that only 5% of contractor-based jobs have the potential to be completely replaced by robots. Although many new jobs were added in construction in the past few years, there still is a labor shortage. The younger generations are not filling in the employment gaps from the older generations leaving and/or retiring.
Unlike other industries, new technologies take longer to catch on in the construction industry, so full-on robot usage is probably many, many years from coming into fruition. Right now, there are robots doing smaller (yet still important) tasks, like bricklaying. Robots that can do repetitive tasks faster than a human are being sought out to get project’s done faster. However, this doesn’t mean the human is replaced. The human needs to run the robot, check on the robot’s work, and set up the work before the robot completes a task.
So overall, contractors don’t need to be alarmed just yet. Your jobs are safe from the robots. People will always value people. People will have to manage, repair, control, maintain, and direct the robots. With a changing society, new jobs will also emerge for people to do, as well.
It’s best to think of new technology as things that can help us on the job not harm us.
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